I have seen such progress in the Backyard Bible Clubs! It’s amazing how the kids have got the concept of Jesus Christ and God through a ton of activities. The kids love coming to Backyard Bible Clubs. At first, the kids were wild. They were running all over the place but as the week began to progress. I saw the kids and guides spiritually maturing.
I heard a story about Read the rest of this entry »
It’s Thursday, our last day of Missions:Brainerd 2010. The last two days have been rich and full. Mornings have included showers, time alone with God, group chapel, and backyard Bible club (VBS) prep. We did more service projects in groups Tuesday afternoon which included hauling garbage to the dump, lawn mowing, painting, and going around neighborhoods inviting children to our backyard clubs and passing out information about Lifespring Church. Wednesday afternoon we did our Cuyuna range cultural immersion part 2 (Part 1 was the Croft Mine museum.) - canoeing and kayaking on the mine pit lakes. It was a much-needed and valuable time for our group to have an afternoon to relax a bit and continue to bond. Backyard clubs have continued to go very well the past two evenings. It’s been fun to watch the students grow in their ability to lead the backyard clubs and in their ministry to the children. Read the rest of this entry »
Missions:Brainerd (Missions:Cuyuna Lakes) is off to a great start! Our main prayer for the trip this year is that God would do whatever He desires with this trip this year. With that in mind, let me briefly summarize the first two days. Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday, July 27 At a BUMP meeting two years ago, Brad Aust brought up a common theme in many of our applications, the desire to know God more intimately and personally and to grow deeper in him–the reason I decided to go last year. I was astonished when he said that it should not be our motivation for a missions project, serving is not for the server, it is for God and for others. Our purpose in Minneapolis right now is for those seventy oftentimes out-of-control, troublesome, sweet children who want nothing more than a bit of your attention and a leg to cling to. Northern Minneapolis is a depraved place where abuse, prostitution, gambling, gangs, and drugs are commonplace and money seems anything but. Unfortunately, every little Jerry, Terrion, Aveyana and Gracie seems to be caught in the midst of the sin surrounding them and though looking at it with innocent eyes, cannot fight forever if unaided. More unfortunately, it is unlikely these kids will ever escape the cycles of teenage pregnancy, gang membership and poverty only for it to be passed on from generation to generation. But fortunately one man does have the power to vanquish these sins- Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Living Hope Ministries (LHM) is a beautiful ministry of God-loving individuals indulging in spreading God’s love across a desolate city and Lakewood is very blessed to be acquainted with them. We are collaborating and conducting a sports camp hoping to have some fun with the kids playing games and sports and using water breaks to tell them little pieces of how God has been working in our lives and how he has changed our lives forever. Every kid is desperate for love and we pray we can help them see that they don’t need us to be loved, they will always be loved no matter what they do and who they are. They just have to look in the right place and we’re here to direct them there. I’ve been paired with Will Kramer to serve the 3rd-4th graders and it seems they each have a passion for jump-roping. No matter what we try to introduce to them whether it be basketball, four-square or kickball, they always ask to jump rope forcing me to remember catchy chants I used to say when I was their age. Though we talk some during the camp, I’ve really bonded with the kids before it starts as we play catch and kick around a ball. Today, I was able to relate to a few kids when I caught them climbing trees–myself being a tree climber–and after they came down we were able to talk about serving and Jesus when they asked why I rode in a big white van for two and a half hours just to play games with them if I didn’t get paid. They are why we ride in big white vans for two and a half hours to play games with kids; their smiles, their laughs, even their tantrums, and hopefully someday their salvation. Sincerely, Nick Greatens
(oddly enough!) prepared by Alban, an elder at the church. We slept at the church last night because of our early start this morning.
Our final night of classes went well. We performed “Quebec, Quebec” for them, and fortunately, the words were shown on the screen as we sang and Ted played guitar, because we totally messed up one section in the middle of it (”we hate to go, we’ve taught you all we know”), even though we stopped and tried it again! But they appreciated our sentiment, and swaying, and kicks.
On the way home, we were talking about how close we feel to our students at the end of one week of classes. But after we have taught them words and phrases for their family, their occupations, their traditions; corrected their writing about their favorite relative, the place they would most like to visit; and helped them find the words to tell their classmates about their hobbies; (to name just a few), we know a great deal about each other. On the final night, a number of them brought little gifts for us and there was hugging all around, although we had met only a few days earlier.
We also feel very close to the Boberg family after working and sharing meals with them all week and getting a taste of the difficulty of their work in Quebec.
I could go on, but we’ll save some stories for our report night at Lakewood (not scheduled yet) and our post-trip letters to you, our faithful supporters. We want to give God the glory. Please join us in praying that the love God showed to these people through us will be part of making an eternal difference in their lives.
Lynda